Lives of the Saints
1. HOLY PROPHET HABAKKUK
Habakkuk was the son of Asaphat, from the tribe of Simeon. He prophesied six hundred years before Christ during the reign of King Manasseh. He foretold the devastation of Jerusalem. When Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, attacked Jerusalem, Habakkuk took refuge in the land of the Ishmaelites, from where he later returned again to Judea, where he lived as a farmer. One day he was carrying lunch to workers in the field, when suddenly the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said: Take the lunch which thou hast to Babylon, to Daniel, to the lions' den. And Habakkuk said: Lord, I have not seen Babylon, and I know not where the den is. Then the angel took him by the hair and instantly transported him to Babylon, into the enormous distance, to the lions' den, into which Daniel had been cast by King Cyrus as punishment, because he would not bow down to idols. Daniel, Daniel, receive the lunch which God hath sent thee, cried out Habakkuk. And Daniel received and ate. Then the angel of God again took Habakkuk and transported him to Judea, to his field. Habakkuk also prophesied concerning the liberation of Jerusalem and the time of Christ. He reposed in deep old age and was buried in the place of Kela. His relics were discovered during the time of Theodosius the Great.
2. HOLY MARTYR MYROPIA
Myropia was born in Ephesus to Christian parents. After the death of her father she moved with her mother to the island of Chios, where she also suffered for Christ. The suffering of this holy virgin occurred soon after the suffering and death of the glorious martyr Isidore the soldier (see May 14). When the torturers beheaded Isidore, the brave Myropia secretly took his body, censed it, and honorably buried it in a certain special place. The wicked prince Numerian heard that the martyr's body had been stolen, and he wanted to execute the guards. Learning that innocent people would suffer because of her deed, the blessed Myropia presented herself to the authorities and confessed that she had taken and buried the martyr's body. By order of the prince the holy virgin of Christ was fiercely beaten over her whole body, and finally, all wounded, she was cast into a dungeon. But the Lord did not leave His martyr without consolation. At midnight a heavenly light illumined the dungeon, and many angels appeared, with Saint Isidore in their midst. Peace be to thee, Myropia, said Saint Isidore to her, thy prayer hath come to God, and soon thou shalt be with us, and shalt receive the crown which hath been prepared for thee. The holy sufferer rejoiced, and in that hour she gave up her spirit to God. From her body came a fragrant smell which filled the whole dungeon. One of the guards, seeing and sensing all this, believed in Christ, was baptized, and soon himself received a martyr's death. Holy Myropia departed into eternity in the year 251.
3. SAINT UROŠ, SERBIAN EMPEROR
Uroš was the son of Emperor Dušan. He reigned in the difficult time of the disintegration of the Serbian empire. Meek, pious, and gentle, he did not wish to subdue by force the unrestrained nobles, among whom the most unrestrained was Vukašin, who came to the good emperor's head. The good Uroš suffered martyrically on December 2, 1367, in his thirty-first year. Slain by men, he was glorified by God. His wonder-working relics rested in the Jaska monastery in Fruška Gora, from where during the Second World War (in the year 1942) they were transferred to Belgrade and placed in the Cathedral church beside the body of Prince Lazar and Despot Stefan Štiljanović. During the time of this good emperor the monastery of Saint Nahum was built on Lake Ohrid; Uroš's noble Grgur built it.
4. VENERABLE ATHANASIUS, RECLUSE OF THE CAVES
This holy man, after long struggle, died, and was washed by the brethren, dressed and prepared for burial. Two days he lay thus dead, and suddenly he revived. When they came to bury him, they found him sitting and weeping. Then he shut himself up in his cell, and lived twelve more years, on bread and water only, not speaking a word to anyone. He reposed in the Lord in the year 1176.
5. SAINT ISE, BISHOP OF TSQALANI
Ise was one of the Thirteen Syrian Fathers (see May 7). A great wonderworker. By prayer he turned a river from the distance to the vicinity of the city of Tsqalani. His relics rest in a church of his name in Tsqalani in Syria.
Hymn of Praise
Like the wind passed Dušan's power,
Uroš's sanctity remained forever.
Weak in violence, strong in virtue,
Strong in virtue, righteousness and truth,
Uroš loved Christ God with all his soul,
And gained heaven but lost the earth.
No sin at all curved his soul;
Defeated he conquered, slain and - lives.
All the Serbian nobles, proud, hot-tempered,
Could not living accomplish
What now the relics accomplish of Uroš the holy,
God's favorite, Uroš the Mighty.
People do not reign rich in dust,
But rich in righteousness and God's truth;
Enthroned Uroš still reigns now,
And to his people eases sufferings;
Prayers in Paradise before Christ he raises,
Mercy for his people from the Lord he asks.
O Uroš the emperor, holy, noble,
Help us to fulfill God's law!
“Defeated he conquered, slain and — lives.”
Reflection
"Who has come from that world to tell us?" Thus unbelievers ask. One must answer them: repent of your sins, if you wish to know; make yourselves worthy, and you shall see. Saint Habakkuk traveled with an angel. Saint Myropia saw a multitude of angels, and among them Saint Isidore the martyr. Saint Athanasius of the Caves was two days dead for this world but alive only for that one. After the return of his soul to his body, they gathered around him and asked him: how didst thou revive? what didst thou see? what didst thou hear? He wished to say nothing, being completely in awe of what he had seen in that world, but only said: *Save yourselves! When they pressed him greatly to tell them more than what they saw after death, he answered: If I tell you, ye will not believe, nor will ye obey me*. Upon repeated insistence he said among other things: Repent every hour, and pray to the Lord Jesus Christ and His most pure Mother. And in our days there occur cases of near-death experiences. And the visions and testimonies of all those who have near-death experiences and are returned again to bodily life do not contradict one another but complement each other. Namely: each dead person sees one part of that world, which is enormous, incomparably greater than this world. Many at death see their relatives long dead, and converse with them. This is almost an ordinary occurrence. In the year 1926 in the village of Vevčani, Meletije P. was at death's door; he conversed with his children who had died 20 years before. When his living relatives said to him: *Thou art raving! he answered: I am not raving, but conversing with them as with you, and I see them as I see you*.
“Save yourselves!”
Contemplation
Contemplate the sinful fall of Adam and Eve, namely:
1. How Adam and Eve before sin were clothed in innocence, and saw not themselves naked;
2. How after sin Adam and Eve saw themselves naked and hid themselves from God;
3. How every virtue is clothing and every sin is nakedness.
“Every virtue is clothing and every sin is nakedness.”
Homily
on the joyful revelations in the first sentence
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth (Gen. 1:1)
How condensed and full is every word of God! Like folded cloth, which can be carried under the arm, and which can be spread out on the grass far and wide. How much precious treasure this word of God reveals to us: *In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth! * It tells us before all else that God is the only eternal and uncreated. And this first revelation gives us the first unspeakable joy. In this whirlpool of change and transience, it unspeakably rejoices us that our Creator is above change and transience. It tells us further that the one and good God is the Creator of the world, and since He is the Creator, He is also the Almighty and the Provider. And this second revelation gives us a second unspeakable joy. The world did not come from madness or from chance, without sense and purpose, but came from God the All-wise, the All-knowing, the All-merciful, who also governs it leading it to a meaningful goal. It tells us further that this world had a beginning, and consequently will have an ending also. And this third revelation gives us unspeakable joy. For it would be sad if this world were eternal and if all goals, nearer and final, were only in it, which would truly cause a whirlpool in the minds of the wise and sorrow in the hearts of the righteous. It tells us finally that God created two worlds, the heavenly and the earthly, or the incorporeal and the corporeal. And this fourth revelation gives us a fourth unspeakable joy. As now we lift our gaze upward and rejoice in the sun, moon, and stars above our heads, so we raise our spirit toward the spiritual world, similar to us but purer and brighter than us - toward the angelic world, and we rejoice, for we know that there is a world better than ours, into which we also shall move, and like weary travelers return home and rest. O how sadly would the gaze of people wander on the earth, only on the earth, if there were no starry heaven! And how sadly would the spirit of people wander in the material world, if there were no spiritual, heavenly world!
O Lord All-good, glory and praise to Thee. To Thee alone be glory and praise forever. Amen.
“The world did not come from madness or from chance, without sense and purpose, but came from God the All-wise.”